The International negotiations to approve a Global Plastics Treaty They have failed again, for the second time. The nearly 200 countries meeting in Geneva since August 5 have been unable to reach an agreement, as It happened at last year's summit in Busan, South Korea.The deadline for reaching an agreement technically ended at midnight on Thursday. Negotiations dragged on until early Friday morning, following widespread revolt against the latest draft agreement, released Wednesday, which directly eliminated all the key points, especially the imposition of a reduction in plastics production, yielding to pressure from the group of oil-producing countries, led by the group supporting the United States. These latter countries are truly responsible for the failure.

Up to 8 billion tons of plastic waste pollute the planet, according to an estimate from a new scientific study published Monday in The LancetThis stratospheric figure is equivalent to 200 million large trucks (about 40 tons each), which are necessary to collect all the plastic waste accumulating in every corner of the planet, from the mountains to the bottom of the ocean. However, it would be an impossible feat because much of this waste They are in the form of microplastics and nanoplastics, very small particles that pollute the environment and that have reached our body through the food chain. The study of The Lancet, in fact, denounces that "plastics cause illness and death from childhood to old age." The study is published coinciding with the start of the summit that will bring together all UN governments in Geneva starting tomorrow to try to finally approve the Global Plastics Treaty. This binding agreement has been blocked in previous summits by plastic-producing countries (derived from petroleum), which refuse to include measures that affect production and demand that the treaty be limited to talking about waste management.

In 2022, Catalans will generate 3.8 million tons of waste. But, of all that mountain, only 1.7 million tons were selectively collected. Thus, garbage separated at source, in homes or businesses, stands at 45%. It is a slightly better figure than the data from the previous year (0.3% more waste was separated) but, nevertheless, it is well below the European objectives, which were set to reach 50% of separated waste in 2020 and reach 55% by 2025.

Plastic plates and cutlery, ear sticks and drinking straws are among the list of disposable plastic items that will have to disappear from the shelves of supermarkets and shops from 3 July, as ordered by the European directive. The Generalitat and the Spanish government insist that they will comply with this mandate despite the fact that, in reality, sellers and consumers will not notice it yet. Spain has not transposed the EU regulation and the law that has to curb the proliferation of disposable plastic throughout the state is in parliamentary phase. The Catalan law - the competences of waste management are autonomous - is also behind schedule and therefore there is no legal framework to control or punish breaches of this ban already in force in Europe.